North Oakland Temescal area. What's it like? (San Francisco, Emeryville: rental, neighborhoods)

[GlobalSoul]

Can anyone please give me some information on this area? My son's looking to rent a studio in this area and I am trying to learn as much information as possible before he commits as his safety is of paramount importance to myself and him. I live overseas so any help you offer would be greatly appreciated.

There is a BART commute involved here from the McArthur BART station to San Francisco where he works and some of it may involve evenings. How safe is this in the evenings as he'll have to walk a good 15 minutes or so to get back and forth from the bart station according to google map?

I would be very grateful for any help and the sooner the better so he can make the right decision as he'll be viewing tomorrow. .

[GlobalSoul]

I forgot to mention the two locations he's considering are :
1. Opal Street at 42nd Street and
2. 40th St

[sonarrat]

Temescal is fun and safe. The BART station is not. He may want to catch a transbay bus instead.

[GlobalSoul]

Sonarrat, how late do the transbay busses run and are they the same as MUNI?

Thanks.

[fizbin]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Temescal is fun and safe. The BART station is not.

Safe is relative. There are certainly safer neighborhoods in the Bay Area, and certainly ones that are much less safe. I drive through this area regularly in the daytime, rarely after dark, and never feel unsafe. But in my opinion if safety is of paramount importance I would look elsewhere. Also, generally BART stations are safe, but this one is in a dodgy neighborhood. One of five or six I would not make regular use of.

[18Montclair]

I dont think the Macarthur BART station is bad.

[artemis78]

Except for late night trips, MacArthur is fine---it gets enough daytime use that it's not a problem. (It's the primary BART station for three major hospitals, the City of Emeryville's business shuttles, the Caltrans bike shuttle from SF, and countless corporate shuttles, so there are literally always people coming and going during the day.) Late night *can* be sketchy simply because the area empties out, but many people do it with no trouble. If your son is open to biking, that can be a great solution for days when he knows the trip will be late, since the problem is more the streets/parking around the station than the station itself. The Transbay bus in that area doesn't run past commute hours, though he does have the option of BARTing to Rockridge and taking a local bus from there (longer trip but no sketchy walk). Telegraph Avenue near BART is beginning to have more restaurants and such, though, and the walk will be much better once more is going on there at night---you can walk straight up Telegraph to 42nd, and 42nd itself is fine---mostly residential.

The neighborhood itself is gentrifying, but still a bit gritty on that end; I like the vibe, though (as do lots and lots of hipster kids and young families, so it's crawling with them).

[GlobalSoul]

If he were to look at areas either close to or at Lake Merritt for a rental and had to commute from the Lake Merritt BART station, would that be a less dodgy neighbourhood?

BTW, many thanks to the posters who have responded. Your insight is invaluable. : )

[artemis78]

It depends on where along the lake---some of it (north/east) is safer, and some of it (south/southeast/west) is about the same. The area around Lake Merritt BART has similar challenges late at night for the same reasons (not much happening in the immediate area after hours). He might consider looking on the side of the lake closer to 19th Street BART---that station feels safe to me at night, particularly now that there's a lot more going on in the neighborhood near it. Alternatively, the Transbay bus that runs to the Grand Lake neighborhood (top of the lake where Grand and Lakeshore Aves hit) runs regularly (inc. weekends and evenings) so that's an option if he's commuting to somewhere near the San Francisco station (Mission and 3rd/SOMA neighborhood). If not, it can be a pain to get to on the San Francisco end.

[fizbin]

If I wanted to live in Oakland, work in SF, use minimal or no car, live in an safe, happening place with an excellent social scene and easy access to BART, I'd live in Rockridge.